Denying temple water to Dalit in Sambhal incident very unfortunate, says Mayawati

New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati on Wednesday said denying a Dalit girl the right to drink water at a temple in Sambhal was very unfortunate and called on the government to take action in the matter.

“The government should take strict measures against people indulging in humiliation of Dalit,” said Mayawati.

The 13-year-old Dalit girl was from Gunnaur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal District.

Sudha, was working in the fields along with her father and went to the temple to quench her thirst.

“When I went to drink water, the priest called me ‘chamar’ and said how had I dared to drink water. He also called me names. He slapped me,” she said.

“Then, I went to my father. When my father confronted him, he thrashed my father with a stick,” she added.

Charan Singh, Sudha’s father claimed that the entire Dalit community in the village is not allowed to take water from the temple’s hand-pump.

“They don’t even distribute ‘prasad’ to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case under Section 323,324 and 3(1) 10 of the SC/ST Act.